Q-post drivers at an awareness lecture conducted by the Traffic Awareness section at the General Directorate of Traffic headquarters.
Expressing dissatisfaction about the existing practices and standards of safety measures relating to private school transport, an official of the General Directorate of Traffic has said that private schools must keep safety of students a priority.
“All safety measures must be taken for the school buses as some of them are old and their air-conditioning systems are not working properly which is not acceptable,” said Major Jaber Mohamed Rashid Odaiba, Assistant Director of Media & Traffic Awareness Department.
He said that the private schools must have supervision on the buses which they were hiring from companies.
“They also should supervise their drivers and teach them the traffic rules,” said Odaiba.
“The drivers of private school buses used to commit many violations like speeding and not dropping students at the proper places,” he said, adding that “In case any school receives any complains about the driver, they should take action against him.”
Odaiba also said that the Traffic Department was ready to give awareness lectures to private school drivers on requests from educational institutions. He added that the Traffic Department had recently conducted an awareness lecture series for 300 drivers working with Q-Post.
On traffic congestion after reopening of schools, he noted that traffic jam had decreased as compared to the past as many intersections and roads like Al Markhiya intersection, Sports intersections, TV intersection, had been opened recently.
He further said: “The traffic jam at school timings is normal and not specific to Qatar only. People have to cooperate with the Traffic Department and follow the rules to avoid traffic jams like leaving their homes early.”
Most of the traffic violations, he said, the department had registered since reopening of schools were related to overtaking from the right.
“Now Doha’s streets are equipped with cameras and the overtaking from right carries a fine of QR1,000 and the confiscation of the vehicle for one week.”
About the number of traffic accidents and deaths this year, he said that they had decreased as compared to the last year.
